Best detector to find this hidden GOLD

[Bluesplayer]

Hello All,

I'm new to this forum and want to start metal detecting. I have a budget of about $5000 or so to spend on the best detector for this need. Before you disgard this message let me say, I know where there may be buried gold coins (90% sure).

Here's the background:
Pancho Villa, Emiliano Zapata and many of the Mexican revolutionaries (or bandits as you may see it) would steal gold from trains headed for mexican banks or headed to the United States. They would use this gold to fund their cause. This is true, although it may seem hard to believe, but these guys would sometimes go into small villages and give away some of the gold to peasants. Even Pancho Villa's men would get a portion of the gold to keep which they would often hide in the hills or other deserted places along the way. They couldn't keep carrying all that gold around with them. I used to think that was a bunch of bulloney but I have been to Mexico and heard straight from the horse's mouth, on how some people have come across buried gold. One person who was constructing on his property had to take down a small room in back to expand it. As they were digging, they found several boxes that looked like coffins under the floor of the room that were filled with gold. That person is now one of the main business owners in that small town because he had the capital to start his businesses. And everyone in town knows that family is rich from gold they found. The money usually found is gold coins called "Centenarios" that are about 2oz of almost pure gold. The gold is usually buried from 3ft to 6ft deep. They only had shovels back then but still didn't want the gold left too close to the top. The gold coins were usually put in sacks (potato) and then placed in either wooden boxes, big pottery vases (used to store drinking water also), or in rare ocassions, they would be placed in a large trashcan like container called a "Caso". These "Caso" containers are copper or iron now, but I'm not sure what they were back then. They would be used to fry pigs etc. Someone in an excavation team told me that he was searching for gold with some other people when they found gold coins in Monterrey, Mexico. But when the main expedition leader unearthed the "caso" and uncovered it from some sort of cloth on top, they said some sort of gas was released from there and the guy fell over dead on top of the coins. I don't know if he smelled them, took a good wiff or what but perhaps coins being there for a long time will emit some sort of toxic gas and must be let to air out before handling. In either case, there is gold to be found. I have some contacts that are old (we're talking grandpas here) that swear they know around what area there is more gold.

Now for my question, finally!! What would be the best detector for under $5000 to use for such searching for about 100 gold Centenario coins (perhaps in a wooden box, or vase) that are buried at about 3ft to 6ft deep? (there's not too much mineralization around there)
The GP3500 won't go anywhere near that depth. The 2 box detectors will reach that depth but can they tell you if you're digging up gold? or just a big iron shovel? I can't go digging up 6 ft to find an junked trashcan, propane tank or something like that. I need to know at least that what I'm digging up is not iron. I have been searching around the forums and haven't been able to get a good answer for that. I have seen some Lorenz detectors for about $5000 that look like they may be up for the task, but are they any better than say a 2box TF-900??

Any help you guys can advise me on would be greatly appreciated. Oh and I'll post the photos of the gold coins as soon as I get them out :-)

 

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[gldhntr]

get an explorer 2 with one of those big high dollar coils i have seen advertised here.....with a 10 inch mine can get a minie ball at 11 inches, and a 3" square hatchet head at 2 feet....i would imagine you could get to 4-6 feet easy with those large 18-24 inch coils and still have decent discrimination....i'm not sure what company puts out the coils but someone here knows, or google minelab explorer 2,, one of the sites concerns aftermarket equipment for them,,,,other than that i would get a good pulse unit and dig man............gldhntr

 

[Nitro 54]

Minelab 3500 will get you the most depth for just over $3000.00 without going to a 2 box or computer operated box. Get a bigger coil and you will still have a thousand bucks left over.

 

[gflores71]

Pancho,

For the type of searching that you are planning, using 5000 $$ as your budget, you can get a 1700 dolar Pulse induction machine with a 1 meter coil, a TF 900 two box ( $580 ), and a loop detector VLF ( $700-1000 ) and still have plenty for your margaritas.

I think all three of those detectors have their role. I would first search the suspected area with the two box and mark possible targets, then repeat the same task with the Pulse induction unit (deepers-8 , Pulse Star), and compare results and readings. Last you fire up the loop detector and give shape to the targets using intensity of signal and not sound( dont rely on discrimination)

Then Dig your most probable ones

Remember that as you mentioned most of these relatively small caches were personal, meaning one person digging so that no one else would know where it was, therefore not deep( 3 feet ). You should be able to pick up the targets up to that depth with all 3 detectors.

for info on the other issues look up the thread on "clues for cache hunting"

good luck

 

[cptbil]

I have used two box detectors, White's & Garrett's, to find nice deep treasure/caches!
With use/experience you will be able to draw out, on the ground, the shape of the target!
True!
They don't descriminate,
But! If your in an area and think that there is something there!
DIG ALL TARGETs!
If it's deep !
Someone wanted to hide it !
I'd sure want to know what and why !
In these cases.....
Time is not money!
Effort is!
Dig!